They call her Ladybug
by Refuge959
Summary: One-shot Western AU. There's a new heroine in town and Alya needs Marinette's help to discover her identity. Turns out Marinette wasn't as eager as she hoped. Related to Desert Heat, but you don't have to read that one to understand and enjoy this.


Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.

Marinette sat in her row house, fabric and needle in hand. It was her day off from the inn, and she had decided to work on a dress for the winter. She hummed a simple tune softly to herself as she passed the needle in and out of the fabric.

"MARINETTE!" Whether it was the sound of Alya's voice or the slamming of the front door that shook the house, Marinette couldn't tell. The young reporter burst into the small kitchen with radiant excitement. In her hand, she waved a copy of the local paper, of which she was the lead columnist.

"Marinette! Boy, do I got news for you!" Marinette set aside her sewing as Alya forced the paper into her hands and thumped it proudly. "It's straight off the press!" Alya practically sung, "I wanted you to see it before anyone else!"

Marinette looked down at the headline and began to read the cover story aloud:

"New gun-slinger in town." Marinette read, "Reports of Akuma Bandit attacks are nothing new. However, reports of Thursday's attack suggest Chat Noir may no longer be the only expert gun-slinger sending these hooligans back to their caves. Thursday's rumored sightings of a masked woman in red have been confirmed by several members of the Miraculous Junction Press. Sabrina Raincomprix, a confirmed witness, described the new heroine to our own Alya Césaire:

"She looked about my height and was very slender. She was dressed in all red, from her hat to her boots, and her face was covered by a red bandana with black spots." Miss Raincomprix also gave a vivid report of the mysterious heroine's skills in chasing off the bandits and saving Chat Noir from imminent defeat. (see page 4)" Here, Marinette stopped reading and looked up at Alya with a skeptical gaze. "Imminent defeat?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow, "That's laying it on a little thick don't you think?"

"Girl!" Alya said, snatching back the paper and sending her best friend a pointed scowl. "There's a heroine in town and all you can think to do is criticize my writing?" Marinette chuckled and rolled her eyes. "It is all very exciting, Alya. But how do we know she wasn't just passing through? A little early to be celebrating, don't you think?"

"I don't think so!" Alya said with a waggle of her finger, "My reporter's intuition says we haven't seen the last of her. She'll be back! Everyone in town has been calling her Ladybug, but I am going to figure out who she really is!"

Marinette's gaze widened, "Whoa, Alya. If she hid her face, it's because she doesn't want people to know who she is. Shouldn't we respect that?" Alya waved off the comment as she looked over the article, and abruptly changed the subject. "So, I was hoping you would do me a favor." Marinette eyed Alya's excited expression. This was gonna be a doozy. "Chat Noir has been rather tight-lipped about the whole ordeal, which is a problem seeing as he was the closest to her. So... I was hoping you could talk to Adrien and get him to loosen up a bit." "W-What?" Marinette spluttered. Surely, she couldn't be serious? "I can't do that!"

"Sure you can, girl!" Alya said exuberantly, "Everyone knows you and Adrien have the hots for each other! All you would have to do is bat those pretty blue-eyes of yours, and Chat Noir would tell you anything you wanted to know!" The color in Marinette's cheeks darkened and Alya gave her a knowing look. Still, she was strong and she wasn't backing down so easily. She took a deep breath and steadied her voice. "Alya, I can't do that." This time when she said the words her tone was firm, and caught Alya by surprise. "Why not?" Her friend asked, sensing some unknown conviction lying beneath the surface of Marinette's denial.

Marinette rose from her chair and stood at eye-level with her friend. "If Adrien doesn't want to talk about her, I am not going to twist his arm into doing so. It would be disrespectful to him, and an abuse of our relationship."

Alya stared in shock at the petite girl in front of her. When had she become so strong? As pride swelled inside her, Alya engulfed Marinette in a tight hug. "Oh, Marinette!" She said as she squeezed her friend, "I'm so proud of you! You standing up for Adrien like that is the sweetest thing I have ever heard!" When Alya finally released her, she looked Marinette over fondly. "What?" Marinette asked, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Nothing." Alya answered softly, "I was just thinking about how lucky Adrien is to have someone like you." There was no teasing in her voice. There was no jest in her tone. Every bit of it was pure and sincere, presented in a quiet pride which bloomed only rarely in the young reporter. Marinette embraced Alya tightly in silent thanks.

When Alya had left, Marinette sat back in her chair and picked up her sewing once again. As her needle wandered in and out of the fabric, a strange feeling crept over Marinette. She ignored it at first, but it soon became far too prominent to shove aside. With a sigh, she laid down her sewing and rose from her chair. After ensuring the door was locked, she wandered up the stairs to her bedroom and pulled the curtains closed. As soon as she was certain no one could see her, she reached down beneath the bed and drug out a cloth sack. Inside, her eyes fell upon a red jacket, a pistol, and a spotted bandana.

She would have to warn Adrien of Alya's ambitions later, but for now she had her own problems to worry about and her own questions to answer.


End file.
